Archive for August, 2017

UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization )has previously done a statistical analysis of cultural masterpieces, discovering that the works that most entered foreign language publishing circulation were “the Bible,” followed by Lao Tzu’s “Tao Te Ching.” The reason why there is such a shocking amount of translation, printing, and reading of Lao Tzu’s work is that it contains the human spirit of the world’s constant speculation and alertness.

There are two literary giants in the history of Chinese literature – Confucius and Lao Tzu. When I was in school, we learned the writings of Confucius, but I never really had the chance to learn the philosophy of Lao Tzu until later in life.

Confucius’s writings are more about moral code and conduct: of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith. He writes on restraint and of conforming oneself. The Tao, the Way of Lao Tzu, is the teaching that the purpose of man’s journey on earth is to go back to the origin. He instead writes of introspection and of finding oneself.

Lao Tzu and Confucius did meet each other a few times in China when they lived about 2,500 years ago. According to “Shiji,” or “The Records of the Grand Historian,” one such instance was when Confucius went to Luo Yang, the capital city, to meet Lao Tzu to enquire about rituals and proper etiquette.

When he came back from his meeting, he didn’t speak for three days. His students grew concerned and asked their teacher what had happened. Confucius said: “I know how a bird can fly. I know how a fish can swim. But I do not know how Lao Tzu could rise and fly like a sublime dragon riding on clouds in the sky.”

“Birds can fly but will fall at the hunter’s arrow. Fish can swim but will be caught by the fisherman. Beasts can run but will drop into people’s nets and traps. There is only one thing that is out of man’s reach. That is the legendary dragon. A dragon can fly into the sky, ride on clouds, dive into the ocean. A dragon is so powerful, yet so intangible to us. Lao Tzu is a dragon, and I will never understand him.”

This is all the more reason for me to post Lao Tzu’s teachings, which I will do about once a week every Wednesday. May we all gain enlightenment from his words.

One summer, the ants crawled into my counter of the dressing room from outside to get away from heat. Looking at them, I suddenly realized that they are biological beings just like us. I could not just kill them because to do so is equivalent to murder. So I decided to communicate with them, I begged them to go home or return where they came from. Surprisingly, I could not find any trace of them when I came back several hours later. Same things happened in several occasions.

There was an unusual occurrence that I remember quite well. It was in the early morning; I saw hundreds of ants appearing on the floor of my bathroom. I was shocked to see so many of them, and they darken the floor. Again, I begged them to go home. Honestly, they would be killed or wiped out if my family members were to see them. I made sure I closed my door tightly when I went out.

I came home after a few hours. I was shocked to see the spotless floor, so clean as if someone came to mop the floor. I worried that someone might have come in to clean my room, and killed all the ants. Hurriedly, I went to ask her daughter. She assured me that no one dared to touch “mother’s ants.” I finally realized that we can communicate with the ants. I also believe that we can correspond with many other creatures.

It was cold a few days ago; I first saw the ants appearing in my bathroom. This was the first time that I saw ants came to my new home. I did the same thing as before. I told them to go home, and they disappeared. It happened three times.

It reminded me what had transpired in the past with ants, when I read the following article. Indeed, all living beings should be respected. I am most touched by South African who would stop and wait patiently until little creatures safely travel across the road.

Why did the tiny caterpillar cross the road? To form an incredible 17ft long convoy

This is the moment a group of tiny caterpillars formed an incredible 17ft long convoy to cross a road.

Some 136 caterpillars made the single line and wriggled top-to-toe across the road, linked by a thin silk thread which set their path.

And their safety-in-numbers approach had the desired effect as the slow-moving convoy was easily seen by motorists, who were held up for 20 minutes as it made its way across.

Bumper to bumper: This slow moving convoy of migrating caterpillars was spotted in the Kruger National Park by Jamie Rooney, from High Wycombe, Bucks

This incredible convoy is the ultimate commuter train – a trail of tiny caterpillars heading off into the bush. An amazing 136 caterpillars wriggled top-to-toe across a road on their migratory route in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

One day, a tiger was walking around the forest. Suddenly, he saw a fox and caught it. He thought, “I will have an enjoyable lunch today.”

However, the cunning fox knew that he would be doomed if he didn’t lie. He told the tiger, “I am one sent by the king of heaven. If you eat me, the king will not forgive you, as I went sent by him to be the king of the forest.”

The tiger replied, “Prove that you’re the king of the animals.”

The fox said, “Just follow me, and see how the other animals treat me.”

The tiger followed the fox deep into the forest, and on the way, they saw rabbits, goats, deer, and bears. When they saw the tiger, they were afraid and ran for their lives. After they had walked around, the fox proudly told the tiger, “You see? All the animals in the forest fear me.” What the tiger didn’t realize was that they were actually afraid of him. But he believed the fox’s lie and the fox escaped his fate of being eaten.

The fox not only escaped the fate of being eaten but also got to strut around the forest as if he was feared as much as the tiger.

Because the one carried an umbrella and walked as if it was not raining, the rain soaked him. Because the second one walked on the muddy road with his crutches as if the road was not treacherous, he fell all the time. The third had nothing with him, so he was careful – he tried to avoid the rain; he trod down the muddy road carefully, so nothing bad happened to him.

Moral of the story:

Most of the time, people do not fail because they have nothing, but they fail because they are too confident in what they have.

The image is fromhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/06/dalai-lama-birthday-lessons_n_7697616.html

A Hong Kong reporter had the chance to have a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, and it is quite inspiring. The questions asked and the answers are below:

Q: Is it necessary to go after what has been lost?
The Dalai Lama said: The things that were lost never really belonged to you, anyway, so neither should you regret it, nor pursue it.

Q: Our lives are often tiring, so how can we relax?
The Dalai Lama said: Life is indeed tiring, but remember that only a small part is trying to survive, the bigger part comes from desire and comparison.

Q: How should we grasp yesterday and today?
Dalai said: Don’t let yesterday take up more of today.

Q: How do you treat yourself, and treat others?
Dalai said: Be good to yourself because a lifetime is not long. Be good to the people around you, because you won’t be able to meet them in your next life.

Q: How do you interpret politeness?
Dalai said: A “Sorry” shows sincerity, but a “No sweat” shows a kind demeanor. If you are sincere but do not have a kind demeanor in return, it only shows the ignorance and vulgarity of the other.

Q: How do we find our goals?
Dalai said: If you know where to go, the world will make way for you.

Q: How do we balance happiness with sadness?
The Dalai said: One person has only one heart, yet that heart has two atria. In one there lives happiness, and in another, sorrow. So do not laugh too loud. Otherwise, you will wake up the sadness.

Q: How can we be down to earth?
The Dalai said: For as long as your feet are on the ground, don’t do not make light of yourself too much. As long as you are living on earth, don’t make yourself too big.

Q: Some people say that time will dilute love, what do you think?
Dalai said: Love makes people forget time, while time makes people forget love.

Q: If two people love each other but can not be together, what should they do?
Dalai said: If they cannot be together, let it be. Life is not that long anyway.